Dark Knight, Prince of Light
by Animesaki
Summary: Riku has sworn to protect the Prince of Light, Sora no matter what. Having his heart stolen by said being wasn't part of the oath. And neither was the threat from the darker side of the world. SoRiku, AkuRoku, Zemyx, CLeon, XemSai, RepliVan, TerVen. Rating may change with future chapters. Please review.
1. Prologue: Balance

**Notes of a fan girl: Just to let people know my activity will lessen within a week as I have finally acquired a job.**

**Sora: Your activity is already low Saki, you have two other stories to update and you've been reading and dA-ing more than you've worked on them.**

**Then maybe posting this will make up for my lack of updates.**

**Saïx: I think this story will have an interesting development, talk about imagination and plot twists. *Looking at my plans***

**Hey! Get outta my head! It's still a WIP!*shooing him away* Anyway, I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_The development of the world is all about balance. If there is a light for the waking hours, there must be a light for when the world sleeps. If someone smiles, someone may be crying. If someone hates another, someone one loves another. If there is life, this is death. If there is good, there is evil._

_So it stands to reason that if the power of darkness exists, so does the power of light. But these forces need something to control them, and so two families with such abilities were created. For them, a kingdom where they could carry out their duties without worry; one shrouded by the tainting darkness, the other bathed in the pure light._

_Radiant Garden was a prosperous green land abundant with grass, flowers, trees, farmlands, and fountain upon fountain of flowing waters that fed the life of the kingdom. A happy moderate town surrounded the grand castle within the bordering walls, full of people who constantly bore smiles on their face radiating with the light the domain glowed with. Unmistakable features such as warmly tinted skin and eyes shimmering with life expressed the touch of sunshine given to these people as their lives were lived with nary a worry or care of threats from their shadowed cousins._

_Never World, also known as the World That Never Was by many, was a dark place being where it was. No natural light like the sun, moon, or stars shine in its skies as they were always obscured by the impenetrable storm clouds that forever loomed making every day an endless night. The city was big with black buildings and streets illuminated by neon lights and indoor lights, but even those seemed dim._

_The rain fell in heavy torrents on and off, but not so much the streets would flood, yet still hardly anyone wondered outside because of the creatures that haunted the dark paths, the Heartless. They were terrible shadows that moved about looking for victims to steal hearts from, adding to their already overwhelming numbers or to the higher beings that served the castle, the Nobodies._

_The castle of Never World floated over what seemed to be a bottomless, glowing crater in the earth in the middle of the Dark City, enormous and white the castle was the stronghold where the darkness was controlled by its inhabitants. Feared by the world, the people of Never World bore some appearance that showed they were of the darkness, appearances that over time became the norm for them and unchangeable by any other force of the world; pale skin or skin touched by darkness, light hair, exotically colored eyes, blindness, or nocturnal sight._

_The domains of light and darkness never once crossed paths and that kept the world in balance, because they had no reason to seek each other out. The people were happy, life went on as planned, and the world went through its natural process of constant evolution… while Fate spun her wheels on two separate lives._

**Prologue.**

**Let it be known now this story will have my own twist to it 'cause I'ma write it how I want and I'm cool like that.**

**Riku: So far this makes no sense to me.**

**Don't make me throw you.**

**BTW the inspiration for this story came from a drawing on dA by Kate-Chan.**


	2. Abbandoned Newborn

***Giggling my head off***

**Seifer: What's her problem?**

**Terra: She's imagining baby Riku and Sora.**

**Sora: I remember Riku was so cute when he was a baby~! -^_^-**

**Riku: You were cuter, babe. *smirk***

***With Sora and Riku's baby pics* I'm gonna sell these to other fan girls. I don't own Kingdom Heart or Final Fantasy~! *Runs off***

**Kairi: Hey! Get back her with those! I was gonna sell 'em first! *Chasing me***

* * *

"_Where am I? It's so dark here."_

"_This is the world of the afterlife."_

"_Afterlife? Wait… Does that mean I'm dead?"_

"_Yes, I'm sorry."_

"_But then that means… I can see-!"_

"_No. I'm sorry, but you can't."_

"_What? But… But he… Why can't I…?"_

"_You can't see him here, but I can send you to see him again."_

"_You can? Please, I have to see him! Our time together isn't done yet!"_

"_I will help you. But you must be careful; history tends to often repeat itself."_

"_I won't let that happen again. It was my fault; I'll make sure it won't happen again."_

"_I know you won't."_

"_Can you tell me…? Who are you?"_

"_You'll know one day."_

* * *

Xemnas pulled his hood back as the drizzle ceased around him. He shook his head making his gray-white hair tied back in a low ponytail sway from side to side, his hair was quite a contrast to his mocha tone skin as were the amber- orange eyes that blinked at the sight of what had been his home for the past ten years.

Radiant Garden truly was a wonderful home, its walled-in castle town and palace sat on a peninsula with the beach a mere stroll away. The setting was perfect with its rich, vast fields thriving with a bountiful harvest with a lake that fueled fountains with fresh water almost half a mile from the farmlands. And what made it all the better was how the kingdom looked against the sun that always poured its light down on it when it broke over and disappeared behind the horizon where the dancing, blue ocean met the laughing sky*****.

Xemnas once lived near the darker part of the world, in Traverse Town. The most light the place ever got were the stars and moon, if they were lucky on some days the light of the sun peaking over the horizon just before the ball of fire rose, but that wasn't even an annual blessing. When he was a preteen he decided he'd had enough and left Traverse Town, allowing himself to be deemed a traitor by his people as he set out to find a new, brighter way of life.

He didn't know where he would go when he left, but anywhere he would be able to see the sun would work fine for him; his only problem was that his own family had told the people in Never World about what he had done and they hunted him like he was a wild animal. Were it not for Ansem the Wise, the ruler of Radiant Garden, Xemnas surly would be dead; he owed the man much and was determined to repay every moment of kindness.

He smiled as he reached the edge of the fields, another hour at the most and he would be at the gates of the castle town. The man had been away for two weeks in the mountain ranges looking for crystals to be used for jewelry at Ansem's request for his daughters Tifa and Aerith, and he missed his friends and loved ones greatly, the young princesses included.

As he was passing down the path between the fields that led to the gate something caught his ear, crying. It was coming from the corn crop just ahead of him; he continued on and veered to the left when the sound grew louder, not ten steps in he found a bundle of dirty blankets on the ground wriggling around and crying. He stooped to pull back the blankets apart enough to reveal the face of a baby!

"How in the world did you get out here?" he asked aloud, rather shocked that someone would leave such a fragile life in the first place.

He picked up the infant holding it carefully as it was a newborn, no more than a week old at the least, and began to gently rock it so as to calm it when he noticed how wet the blankets it was wrapped in were, most likely from the earlier down pour. He set his bag down and removed the sopping blankets from the baby's body, seeing that it was only wearing a thin material long sleeved gray shirt with gray pants of the same material, and they too were damp.

Opening his bag to pull out a shirt, and wrapped the baby in that to help warm it as he had no doubt the poor thing was freezing terribly. As he reached to pick up the discarded blankets he noticed a small scroll and retrieved that instead. While balancing the weight in his arms he unrolled the scroll and read the message.

_This child was born on the night of the Winter Solstice and is unable to be cared for by his birth parents. Whoever has found him, please be kind enough to give him a name and raise him as your own._

Xemnas's guess at the baby's age was wrong; he was only a few _days_ old! And abandoned. He came to a decision then; he would take the baby with him and ask Ansem for the right to adopt the child.

Putting the message in the pocket of his coat Xemnas took off his cloak and wrapped it around the baby to give him more warmth then started back for the path to the gates of the castle town. Once allowed through the gates he found himself in the town square, which was more of a semi-deep circle surrounded by parts of the town with three sets of stairs leading to different parts. One set was at his feet, another led to the Market Place of the town, and the last led to the castle itself.

Within a half hour Xemnas was in the throne room of the castle kneeling before Ansem the Wise, the baby still in his arms now asleep. Ansem bared the appearance of his title, though his long hair was a healthy blonde his aged face and eyes, the same color as Xemnas's own, shown with years upon years of the knowledge of the world and beyond. He knew of things from long before his own time and of things no one else could gain a grasp on in terms of understanding of the simplest level. The only thing he didn't know about, and was his main focus, was the workings of the heart, specifically those of light and darkness, and how they were connected to the balancing of the world itself.

He looked regal in his red robes trimmed with gold, the dark clothes under them did nothing to distract from the appearance he created on his person, despite their simplicity.

"Xemnas, it's wonderful to have you home again." The blonde man said with a warm smile on his face that touched his eyes.

Xemnas stood and returned the smile, "Thank you, Master Ansem. I retrieved the crystals your daughters asked for." Balancing the baby in one arm, Xemnas reached into his bag and pulled out a leather pouch to show.

Ansem looked to his left and made a beckoning gesture to the two girls who stood off to the side. One had light brown hair tied in a low twisting braid that fell to the middle of her back, held by a pink ribbon at the base, some hair fell over her shoulders in curls, and she had big green eyes, she was the oldest, Princess Aerith. The other girl had dark brown hair that fell past her shoulder blades; she had dark red eyes that were close to brown, and she was two years younger than Aerith. She was Princess Tifa, and she noticed the bundle in the tanned man's arms moving slightly.

As they stepped forward to take their gift Tifa spoke, "Xemnas what are you carrying?"

The question drew the curiosity of all present in the throne room and Xemnas suddenly felt he was committing a crime against all those who had treated him with kindness over the past ten years.

"Well Xemnas, what are you carrying?" Ansem repeated the question of his youngest child.

Taking a breath to calm his nerves he began explaining, "I was passing through the crop fields when I heard crying coming from our corn fields. I went to investigate and found," he moved his cloak enough to reveal the hidden infant's face "This newborn, abandoned."

Gasps filled the room at the news and everyone began gathering to see the child closely, the accumulated noise was enough to stir the baby and make it start wriggling and whimpering.

"Enough! Step back, you're all frightening it." Ansem's voice echoed throughout the hall with unchallenged authority as he rose from his throne and made his way to Xemnas to see the baby for himself.

The baby was pale, not sickly so but in fact fair. His hair was, at first glance white like snow, but in actuality it was silver like moonlight, and his eyes were a stunning aquamarine which was an uncommon color in Radiant Garden.

"Hand it to me." Ansem said holding his arms out. His tone wasn't demanding, more of a request.

Xemnas passed the infant to the other man and helped to make sure both were comfortable "There was a message with him. It doesn't give much as to where he came from, only when he was born." He explained.

"And when was that?" Ansem asked, his gaze never leaving the boy in his arms, which blinked up at him tiredly yet curiously.

"A few days ago on the Winter Solstice."

Ansem nodded in acknowledgement of the answer. He was quiet for a few moments as he continued to study the baby "Very strange," he finally said "This child possesses power. He retains light within his heart, and another strength that appears to be sealed by some powerful force. That's all I can tell of him."

An old man with a long white beard wearing blue robes and a matching colored pointed hat, and glasses stepped forward, "Master Ansem, may I study the child?"

The blonde turned to the other man and nodded, "By all means, Merlin. I hope you are able to tell us more."

Merlin, as the man was called, stepped forward and gently took the baby to study for himself. He was silent for a few moments as he studied the features particularly, "Interesting. I've only seen features such as these in darker parts of the world, for instance in Never World. But never all of them on one person at once like this."

"Elaborate please." Ansem said.

"The inhabitants of that area are known to have pale skin tones, if not they may be tanned like Xemnas because they were touched by the darkness. The hair being of any shade lighter than blonde is also a known feature, again like Xemnas, yet it is rare to see any with a silver tone like this child's. Finally there are the eyes. Such an exotic color often results in some trait, blindness for example. But I can tell the lad's sight is as normal as yours or mine."

"Is that so?" Ansem said as he walked back to his throne to sit "It is clear that something must be done about the child. It is possible he was born a bastard and his mother could not care for him, so it may be wise we don't send him to the area where the darkness is strong, especially if there is light within him. The only question is what can be done with him?" he wondered aloud.

Aerith stepped toward her father, "May we keep him ourselves? We've always wanted a brother after all."

A bright smile crossed Tifa's face, "Oh Father please!"

Ansem shook his head, "I'm afraid not, my dears."

"Master Ansem, if I may. I am willing to raise the boy myself." Xemnas said confidently "Saïx and I, we've spoken of starting our own family by adopting a child. Allow us to be the child's parents, please."

The request took the blonde man by surprise. Since the day he found him Xemnas had been like a son to him, he fed, clothed, and taught him many things, and has yet to deny him a request. Something such as this though, to raise a child, he still thought of Xemnas as a child himself despite his age and capability to care for himself without hassle. The same went for the other person Xemnas named, who was younger than him by a few years.

"You are both still so young, Xemnas. You still have your own lives to think about before sharing it. Do you believe you're both ready to take on such a responsibility as a child? It isn't an easy task." Ansem said, half hoping Xemnas was and wasn't ready.

"As young as we may be sir, what life does Saïx have really if all he can do is stay in one place day after day? Besides, I think it will do him some good to have a form of company when I am away at times. This request is more for his sake than mine, so I am willing to take on this responsibility with all the good and bad that follows." Xemnas responded, his tone leaving no room for even an ounce of argument.

Feeling it would be in vain to dissuade him Ansem sighed in defeat, but couldn't help the proud smile that crossed his face, "Very well then. I hope you and your lover are happy with the child. But should you ever need any form of help, do not be afraid to ask for it."

Smiling broadly himself Xemnas gave a deep bow, "Thank you, Master Ansem." With that he took the child from Merlin and left the throne room.

After navigating the courtyard of the castle Xemnas found himself in front of a door of a quaint house on the grounds. He felt nervous because he had not been told what condition his lover of four years could be in when he returned; then again, he didn't think to ask in the first place. Saïx had a condition that limited his capabilities and for his own benefit he was told he'd best stay where he wouldn't have to worry about difficulties, but Xemnas was needed inside and outside the castle which resulted in a form of depression that the silverette felt responsible for. He hoped that the child in his arms would make up for it.

He balanced the child in one arm and opened the door, closing it behind him once he was inside and called out, "Saïx, I'm back."

From another room a man younger than Xemnas with light blue hair falling almost to the middle of his back, and golden eyes that were slightly glazed with an X-shaped scar between them, came to greet him with a brilliant smiled on his face.

"Xemnas, I'm glad you've come home safely." He said with clear relief in his voice.

Saïx carefully picked his way around the furniture in the room, sliding his hand over anything he didn't have to stoop down to reach, as if he were guiding himself. When he reached the older man he stared at him for a few moments with a light squint before he smiled again; Saïx always had to stare at someone to make sure he had the right person, as was the result of him being half blind in both eyes and what little ability of sight he had phasing in and out from time to time.

The blunette reached both hands up to cup his lover's face and bring their faces closer in gentle, loving kiss "Mmmm, I missed you so much while you were away." He said rubbing their noses together after breaking away "How long until you're asked to leave again?"

"I may be home for quite a while. I've brought home a surprise for you." Xemnas said letting an excited smile cross his face.

"What is it?" Saïx asked feeling excited himself.

Xemnas led Saïx over to the couch and sat him down, "First you should put that cream on your eyes so you won't have to strain yourself to see."

He went over to where the fire place was on the wall adjacent to the door, and picked up a small china jar from the mantel to take back to the other man. Saïx took it with a small nod and lifted the lid so he could dip a finger in enough to catch a small amount; he closed his eyes and rubbed the dab across the seam of his eyelids on one eye then repeated the process to the other. He kept his eyes closed as he felt a small warmth on them, a sign of the cream's affects as it was used to give him temporary perfect vision. When the warmth vanished he kept his eyes closed a few more moments then opened them slowly as he felt Xemnas sit beside him and that's when he noticed the bundle in his arms.

"What is that?" he asked curiously.

"This is the surprise. I found the poor thing in the corn fields as I was making my way back." Xemnas pulled the cloak and shirt he had wrapped the baby in off to reveal him "Master Ansem has allowed us to keep him and raise him as our own." He said.

The baby shifted in the man's arms before opening his aquamarine eyes and settling his gaze on Saïx. They held each other's gazes before the baby began cooing and seemed to reach out to the man, Saïx felt compelled to reach out and take the infant into his own arms.

"Careful, he's a newborn." Xemnas warned as the boy was lifted.

"You said he was abandoned?" the blunette asked as he situated the baby in his arms.

"Yes. There were no clues as to who he may be, only when he was born. So we will name him and raise him."

Saïx reluctantly torn his gaze from the baby and looked at his lover, a smile on his face and tears glazing his eyes, "This is truly a wonderful gift, thank you. It won't be so lonely now, when you have to go away."

The baby cooed again and took hold of some of the hair that hung in front of Saïx's ears with his small fingers, pulling enough to make the man hiss in pain, but it got both their attention and they smiled lovingly down at the child. Not even in their home five minutes and already they felt attached to him; a void they felt in their lives had been filled by something so small and fragile.

"I don't know what it is, but something tells me Riku is the perfect name for him." Saïx said caressing the baby's pale cheek making the little thing coo at the affection.

"Then that will be his name." Xemnas responded.

* * *

A few days later the castle was abuzz, but not because they had a new addition. They had received a disturbing message that came all the way from Never World and it had everyone on edge.

In Radiant Garden's town square every citizen had gathered to hear what had the very world in an uproar down to its core.

"Everyone! Silence please!" Ansem called over the crowd "Now, I'm sure you are all wondering why it is the world itself trembles. It has puzzled those of us within the castle as well, and we finally know why."

The crowed began to murmur amongst themselves, questions were obvious in their words.

"So then what is going on Master Ansem?" one man asked.

"Never World has sent out word that… Never World's prince was murdered, nearly a week ago." Ansem answered after hesitating.

Gasps rang out throughout the crowd, some of the people flinching and stepping back, crying out the world would end.

"Never World's prince? Murdered?"

"The Prince of Darkness? I heard he was only a child! Barely five years old!"

"Why would anyone kill him?"

"The world will definitely end now!"

"Calm yourselves! Calm yourselves." Ansem called out bringing the crowd to a hush "Now, it is true that because he was its heir, he was the one in which the darkness would embody itself into. But the world will not end because of this loss, as Master Xehanort is still alive himself he can find another heir. The late prince wasn't his son after all, merely born of one who is of the darkness."

"But everything is out of balance!"

"Not true. Everything will remain in balance unless our Prince of Light is born some time soon. Until then, everything is no different." Ansem assured.

Among the crowd Xemnas and Saïx stood listening, their new son in Saïx's arms; neither of them found comfort in their ruler's words.

"How can things be no different? Master Xehanort can't stay alive forever! I mean, who knows when a Prince of Darkness will be born again?" Saïx said.

Xemnas put and arm around him and gave a light squeeze, "That's true. But the balance must be kept, so another may be born soon."

Saïx looked at the baby he held, of course he had to strain to see but the warmth of the small body in his arms, his restless movements, and gurgling was all he needed to be aware of the small life he cherished, "The slightest distortion in the world's balance could mean the end for us all, and it wouldn't be fair. Xemnas we just adopted Riku, I don't want to lose him already."

Seeing his lover on the verge of tears broke Xemnas's heart. Just a few days before he brought an abandoned baby to him and already there was a threat he would be taken away; the very thought made his stomach flip and his heart clench. But then Riku let out a small noise as if he was calling out for attention and Xemnas looked at him.

'_That doesn't mean we should despair.'_ He suddenly thought to himself "Saïx, you shouldn't worry about the future. Focus on what's happening in our lives now. We have Riku, and we're going to raise him, that's all that should matter to us right now." He said.

Saïx continued to look at the baby, his sight clearing up enough to see him better. How the sunlight caught in his silver hair, the daylight was making his skin look like snow at sunrise, and his exotically colored eyes… When others in the castle heard the young couple has adopted the baby found in their crops, they wanted to see him; all of them had said that Riku's best feature were his eyes, they were something anyone could fall in love with.

Riku noticed he had the men's attention and started giggling making both his parents smile.

"You're right Xemnas; Riku is all that matters right now. Anything we do from now on must be for him." Saïx said.

* * *

Time went by. Riku was a year old and life had gone back to as it was before the news of the Prince of Darkness's death was heard. Though Ansem and Merlin kept a close eye on the world with the help of another wizard called Yen Sid who resided in Twilight Town, finding everything was as it was supposed to be yet never letting down their guard.

One rainy evening on the Spring Equinox, Xemnas came home after being called to see Ansem, he found Saïx sitting on the couch reading to their son.

Riku drew his attention from the book being read to him seeing his other father and began babbling making Saïx look up "Welcome back. What's going on in the castle?" the blunette asked.

"The Prince of Light was born a while ago; they just brought him to the castle from the Destiny Islands off the coast of our mainland." His lover explained.

Hearing this Saïx unconsciously brought Riku to him holding him close, but he saw the look on Xemnas's face, one of puzzlement, and he became confused, "What is it?"

"There's something that has Master Ansem and Merlin baffled, and it puzzles Master Yen Sid as well. Because the Prince of Light now exists everything should be thrown off, the fear we all had when we heard the Prince of Darkness was dead should be coming to light." Xemnas said as if he were speaking to himself, trying to find the answer needed in his own words.

Saïx stood up with Riku still in his arms, "But?"

"But everything is as it should be, as if there is no indifference. Everything is still balanced."

"What? How-how can that be?"

"That's the question everyone is asking."

While the two were lost in their bewilderment, Riku looked between them in his natural child curiosity. Then as if something told him to, he looked towards the window where he could see the castle outside and he began struggling in Saïx's arms trying to get away from him.

Saïx and Xemnas looked down at the wriggling child and couldn't help the confused expressions that overtook their faces when Riku started whining and reaching towards the window.

"Riku, what's the matter with you?" Saïx asked.

The baby only struggled and whined more, trying harder to get away.

Xemnas reached for him, "Let me see him." He took Riku to the window and went wide-eyed as the boy started beating on the glass "Do you want to go to the castle?" he asked.

Riku started babbling as an answer, his parents looked at each other then back to their son completely confused by his behavior. The boy's babbling got louder, elevating to whimpers then cries as he beat the window harder until it broke causing the skin of his hands to become cut and he began to bleed making him cry more.

"Oh no! Xemnas go get me some bandages!" Saïx said taking Riku into his arms and taking him into the kitchen while trying to comfort him.

Before Xemnas could move however, there was a knock at the door, "What the hell?"

He opened the door finding a dark haired man with green eyes wet from the rain and panting from the run he probably endured from the castle. He was Laguna Loire, one of the guards.

"Laguna what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Master Ansem… He sent me… to get you… and Saïx… You're both to… come to the castle." Laguna said panting between his words.

"To the castle? Well alright, but first we need to-!"

"Xemnas look at this!" Saïx exclaimed cutting the other man off.

Xemnas went into the kitchen and over to Saïx by the sink, the other man held out one of Riku's hands for him to see. The wounds were already healing as if by magic, like a mysterious presence has initiated a Cure spell by means of the water used to wash the blood away.

"Xemnas! Saïx! Master Ansem asks you be there immediately!" Laguna called from where he was at the front door.

The couple snapped out of their confusion and went back to the living room, Saïx handed their son to his lover; the baby had stopped crying. They followed Laguna to the castle quickly, Xemnas carrying Riku in one arm while using his free hand to guide Saïx; once inside they were led up into one of the towers to a bedroom where Ansem, Aerith, Tifa, and Merlin were gathered around the bed. On the bed was a woman with blue hair and eyes, in her arms was a sleeping newborn with brown hair.

Ansem turned when he heard them come in and he smiled, "Good, you're all here. I thought you would like to meet our dear Prince of Light. She is his mother, Aqua."

Laguna stood by the door as the small family he was sent to retrieve entered to get a closer look at the baby that was brought to the castle.

"Such a sweet child. Congratulations Ms. Aqua." Xemnas smiled.

Aqua smiled tiredly but warmly, "Thank you. May I ask who you all are?"

"My name is Xemnas. This is my lover Saïx and our son Riku." The man answered.

Saïx carefully moved over to the side of the bed closer to Aqua, "May I sit down so that I may see your child better? I'm sorry, but my sight isn't the best so it's difficult for me to have a good look at first."

"I wish you would." Aqua nodded.

The blunette sat down and focused on the baby in the woman's arms for a few moments trying to get a good sense of how he looked, but his eyes were phasing again and his vision went dark "Goodness. I'm sorry but my eyes failed again." He said rubbing them.

"Saïx are you alright?" Xemnas asked in concern as he came closer to him.

"I'll be alright. I'll just have to wait until my sight comes back, that's all." The younger man assured.

Aqua touched Saïx's shoulder to get his attention, "If you don't mind my asking, what is wrong with your eyes?"

Merlin cleared his throat and answered, "The boy is half blind in both his eyes. Four or five years ago Xemnas found him outside of Twilight Town while on an errand for Master Ansem, he was attacked by Heartless and they had used magic on him which affected his sight. The spell is unique and, currently, irreversible; it's only a matter of time before the poor lad is totally blind. For now it phases, going from perfect vision to total blindness sometimes, fuzzy images mostly."

Without anyone's notice the baby boy in Aqua's arms awoke, his eyelids fluttered open to reveal the deepest blue eyes anyone could see and they were focused on Riku who was still in Xemnas's arms. Riku held the newborn's gaze, his own aquamarine orbs filled to the brim and overflowing with curiosity about the baby staring at him. Then he was overtaken by a strange feeling, one that made him once again begin to fuss as he struggled to reach the other boy; at this the baby began crying loudly and wriggling in his mother's arms startling the entire room.

"What on earth as gotten into them?" Merlin questioned.

"_Put them together!"_ a strange voice echoed through the room silencing all but the baby and the toddler.

In a burst of light a stranger appeared in the room, he was old with graying hair and a beard dressed in a floor-length blue robe and a pointed hat decorated with stars and moons "Put them together." He said.

"Master Yen Sid. What brings you here?" Ansem asked him.

Yen Sid turned to the blonde man, "I had heard the Prince of Light had been born this evening, I wanted to pay my respects. But just as I was ready to depart I sensed a ripple in the stars, the collision of two powers that hasn't come in contact for many, many years. It happened here, in this room when those boys made eye contact. Put them together."

Xemnas, though he was confused, did as he was told and let Riku down onto the bed Aqua lay in. Riku crawled his way up to the baby in the woman's arms, both of them now calmed; Aqua shifted the baby in her hold so that Riku could look at him better. The boys once again had each other's gazes and they held them, the baby reached out a hand toward Riku and began giggling. Riku took hold of the small hand and smiled at the baby's laughter, the moment they made contact a light emitted from them. It was bright, but not so much that those present in the room had to shield their eyes. It glowed like the light of the sun just before a sunrise and just after the sunset, twilight, and it bewildered everyone.

"Daddy, what's happening?" Aerith asked.

"I… I don't know." Ansem breathed.

"I don't believe it is explainable." Yen Sid added.

"Sora!"

Xemnas and Saïx blinked when they heard a small voice speak, Xemnas stared at their son in shock when he realized it was his voice, "Riku… He spoke his first word."

"Sora!" the toddler said again making the baby giggle delightfully.

Yen Sid looked at Aqua seeing that she was just as amazed by the whole thing as the next person in the room "Ms. Aqua, have you named your child yet?" he asked.

Aqua shook her head as she continued to watch the sight before her, "No I haven't. I can't think of a suiting name for him."

The wizard nodded in understanding, a small smile on his face, "It seems he has been named for you. Sora, it fits him well."

"Sora!" Riku quipped again.

The light around the two boys faded and everyone stared at the two in wonder. Riku adjusted himself so that he was partially on Aqua and he laid his head on the baby's small torso, their hands still clasped together as they fell asleep.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Tifa said.

Everyone else in the room couldn't help but agree, the sight of the two sleeping like that was just too adorable for words.

* * *

**Squee! Baby Riku and baby Sora! It's just super kawaii! XD**

**Sora & Riku: You would think so you fan girl.**

**Shut up.**

**Riku: And why the hell are Xemnas and Saïx my parents in this?**

**Because it was an idea I came up with months ago and I want to see it play out. So deal!**

**Riku: Screw you bitch!**

***Hog ties Riku* Please review and I hope you lovely readers will tune into my next chapter, thank you~!**

*** ****I got that from ****Alice in Wonderland****. On Disney's special addition of the animated version on DVD there's a deleted song called "Beyond the Laughing Sky".**


	3. Dreams and Magic

**I lost my job, writer's block sucks since I can't seem to update this fast enough, and I can't wait for the new Kingdom Hearts game. *pout***

**Xemnas: Poor baby.**

**Are you being sarcastic with me? *holding my gunblade***

**Xemnas: Um… Uh… I uh-What's that Saïx? *runs off***

**Hmph. Cowardly bastard. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.**

* * *

"_-! Stop! You don't know what you're doing!"_

"_If I don't do it, the world will be destroyed. I can't let that happen -! I can't! Please, understand."_

"_You can't! What about me? Don't I matter to you anymore?"_

"_Oh -, more than you know. I love you. That's why I can't let you seal yourself away. Besides, - was born from my heart. If I do this, he'll die and everyone will be safe."_

"_But you'll die too! I don't want to lose you -! I love you too much to suffer that pain."_

"_-, I love you too. That's why I have to do this, so he can't hurt you. Goodbye."_

"No don't!" Riku screamed as he shot up in his bed panting and in a cold sweat "What kind of dream was _that_?" he asked himself as he rubbed his forehead.

There was a knock at his bedroom door and he got out of bed to answer it, finding Xemnas on the other side "Riku are you alright?" he asked kneeling down to the boy's level.

"I'm fine Papa; it was just a bad dream." Riku assured the man.

Xemnas studied him for a moment, unsure. Riku had been having strange nightmares ever since his sixth birthday just four months ago; it was starting to worry him and Saïx greatly, especially since even Merlin was unable to tell them the significance of the dreams.

"What happened in it?" he asked.

"It was a new one. One of them was going to kill themselves, I think. And when whoever else was trying to stop him, he said it was the only way to save the world." The boy explained.

Xemnas stood up straight again nodding, "Alright then. Go on, get dressed. Breakfast will be ready soon." And he left the boy alone to go about his business.

Riku let out a sigh and stretched his arms over his head then went over to his dresser to get his clothes out, a yellow sleeveless high collar top with blue hemming and a zipper on the front, and a pair of black shorts. Once he was dressed he pulled on some socks and his white and blue high tops then grabbed a pair of blue wrist bands with a yellow stripe on them before he went down stairs.

"Riku, I know you didn't comb your hair young man." Saïx said from the table nursing a cup of coffee.

Riku stopped and looked at him with a slight pout, "Aw Dad, do you I really need to? It's hardly noticeable anyway."

"Don't argue, just go do it. Or you can forget going into the town with Axel today."

Sighing Riku went back up to his room and picked up a comb from the top of his bedside table. He ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair first to see how bad it was, only catching a few tangles and judging that it wouldn't take too long to finish and get back down to eat with his parents, so he ran the comb through. Once done he scampered back down stairs just as his food and a glass of juice were set down at his place.

"Riku, when are you and Axel supposed to be going into the town?" Xemnas asked as he sat across from Saïx.

"This afternoon, after training." The boy answered before taking a bite of his eggs.

Saïx raised an eyebrow but didn't look at his son, "You two aren't going to burn anything again, are you?"

"Aw c'mon! He does that when my back is turned!" the boy complained.

The blue hair male sipped his coffee before responding, "I know you're pouting, stop before your face gets stuck."

Sighing silently Riku finished his food. Just as he got done there was a knock at their front door "That's Axel. I gotta go." He said jumping from his chair.

He hugged his parents and went to see his friend at the door "Hey Axel." He greeted when he opened the door.

A kid who was slightly taller than him with short red hair spiked up wearing tan long shorts, a white tank top with a red vest over it, and a light and dark gold scarf stood smirking at him, "Hey dude. Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Riku nodded and started out the door closing it behind him.

The two hurried across the castle's wide expanse courtyard to the castle itself, taking the usual walk up the many steps.

"So Ri, how's your Dad doing?" Axel asked.

"Which one?" Riku responded.

The redhead gave him a light shove, "You know already, Saïx."

"Still blind." The younger boy said.

Two years ago Saïx went completely blind, the spell cast on him finally taking its full toll on him. The cream he used to help his sight was now useless for his sight and he now had to rely on touch to recognize an object or person.

They got inside the castle and immediately made their way towards the back area where the postern was, where they held all the training sessions. On their way they passed by Aqua, with her was a brunette boy, his hair wildly spiked everywhere on his head and big blue eyes. Both of them were dressed in fine clothes; Aqua wore a lavender dress that fell to her knees with a white satin shawl, the boy wore red shorts and a white jacket that fell to the length of the shorts.

"Hi Riku! Hi Axel!" the little boy called out with a bright smile.

"Oh, hello Prince Sora. Lady Aqua." Riku said as both he and Axel bowed in respect to them.

Sora pouted, "Riku, just call me Sora."

Aqua laughed lightly at her son, "What else do you expect of him Sora? He's a knight in training, it's protocol to address you with such respect."

The young prince looked up at his mother, "I say he doesn't have to. He's my best friend, and I give him the right to call me by my name."

"I'll have to refuse the honor, Your Highness. But thank you." Riku said.

"If you'll excuse us now, we have to go to training." Axel said and he and his friend ran off after one more bow.

"Riku don't forget! You said you would come to my lessons with me in the library this afternoon!" Sora called after them.

"I remember! Don't worry I'll be there!" Riku called back.

"Hey! We're going into the town, remember?" Axel noted.

"Don't complain. You have chores to do before we go anywhere anyway." The silverette responded.

They got to the castle postern finding their Battle Master and the other trainees already lined up and waiting to begin their drills. Counting them there were eight students in total, each learning to use different methods in battle… Well, not completely different for everyone since the only ones who were using different battle skills were Wakka and Axel.

Riku and five other students, Squall, Cloud, Tidus, Hayner, and Seifer, were all learning swordsmanship. Axel wanted to learn to fight using unique weapons called chakrams and Wakka had a strange weapon of choice, a ball. I'm serious it was a ball; why, no one knew but it seemed to work for him.

"About time you two." Laguna, their Battle Master said.

"Sorry sir, we met with Prince Sora on our way here." Axel explained.

Laguna nodded in understanding, "Okay then rookies, grab you practice weapons and pair up. And keep your distances this time."

The trainees paired up. Squall, a brunette with steel-blue eyes was about thirteen years old and Laguna's son; he paired up with Cloud, a blonde boy with blue eyes that seemed to glow. His hair was spiky and the trait earned him the nickname "Chocobo", he was small and thin but he made up for that with his determination. He was only eleven. They were using practice swords.

Wakka was a twelve-year-old from Destiny Islands; he was darkly tanned with red-orange hair that resembled a tidal wave, he was using a Rubber ball with a thin padding on it. His partner was Tidus, a sandy blonde with a mild tan who was ten; he was using a staff like a practice sword.

Seifer was a blonde boy Squall's age with a bad attitude; he often liked to pick fights with Squall and Hayner. Hayner was eight years old with dark blonde hair that spiked up in the front and spiked back, and an attitude just as bad as Seifer's; they had practice swords.

Riku and Axel paired up like always, Riku getting a practice sword and Axel using two Frisbees.

"Now I hope you all studied your drills last night, because I'm not calling anything out." Laguna said.

"You never do Dad." Squall noted.

The man shrugged, "Alright get started!"

Axel started his drill by trying to hit Riku with one of his Frisbees, "So why are ya going to those lessons with His Highness anyways?"

Riku brought his sword up to block the blow, "It's only the History parts I'm interested in really. I'm hoping to find out something about the dreams I've been having for a while." He pushed against his friend and tried to hit him.

Axel jumped back, "You had another one last night didn't you?" he ran at the silverette ready to strike at him.

"Yeah, and it was a weird one too." Riku responded as he counterattacked.

The redhead grunted at the force of the counterattack but pushed against it trying to knock the younger boy off his feet; for being the youngest in their class Riku was quite strong. "So what happened?" he asked.

"Well," Riku huffed as he pushed back "I only saw faces, but I couldn't hear the names. One was begging the other not to kill themselves… and the other was saying they had to do it… to save the world… They said something about someone… being… born from them… so they had to die to… stop them."

They jumped back from each other and Axel back peddled enough to allow him to throw a Frisbee which was hit out of midair. "That's crazy dude. And you think these dreams are trying to tell you something?" Axel asked and he ran to get the Frisbee that now lay on the ground.

"I'm sure they are; I just don't know what." Riku answered as he ran to try and stop his friend "They make me feel like something bad is going to happen." He swung his sword in an arc when he and Axel were closed together enough, his friend barely able to bring his other Frisbee up fast enough to block.

"And Master Ansem, Merlin, and Yen Sid have nothing to say about 'em?" Axel asked.

"Nothing. They're at a total blank." The silverette answered.

Axel grabbed his Frisbee and they jumped back from each other "That's messed up." Axel said bluntly.

"Axel, Riku, enough with the chitchat." Laguna called.

"Sorry!" they responded.

They continued on with their training for another five hours before they were allowed to leave the Postern and carry on with their own days. Riku and Axel put up their practice weapons with the others; did the best they could to get the sweat off of them with the moist towels that was provided for them, and then ran inside the castle so Riku could join Sora and Axel could do his chores.

"Don't forget Riku, we meet at the gate at 3:30!" Axel called as he took off down a different hall from his friend.

"See you there!" Riku called back as he ran to the library.

Upon entering the vast room he was glomped by Sora, "Yay! Riku's here for the rest of the lesson!"

The silverette smiled, "Hello, Your Highness."

The younger boy pulled back and placed his hands on his hips trying to glare, but he only looked like he was pouting, "Call me Sora!"

Trying not to smile Riku responded, "I can't. I'm not allowed to. I'm sorry."

Sora turned his back to him, "Then I won't speak to you for the rest of the day."

Riku smirked knowing how to counter the threat, "Then I guess I should just go home and wait until Axel's ready to go to town then."

3…2…1, cue desperate glomp.

"No-no-no-no-no-no! Please don't leave me Riku!" Sora cried into Riku's chest while he practically strangled him.

Riku, still smirking, poked under Sora his arms making the younger boy squeak and jump back.

"Sora it was a joke." The silverette laughed.

Sora's baby face brightened, his ocean blue eyes widening with the mega-watt smile that touched them, "You called me Sora! You called me Sora!" the brunette squealed loud enough for Riku to cover his ears before he was tackled to the floor "You finally used _only_ my name!"

Riku chuckled and patted the prince's head.

"Once again Riku, you're just in time for the history lesson." Came Merlin's voice.

Sora got off of Riku and they both stood up to sit at the table.

"So then my boy, had any strange dreams lately?" the old wizard asked.

Riku nodded, "I actually saw someone this time. I saw everything through another's eyes; I think we were in a dead land because there were only deserts, mountains, gorges… No plants, water, people… And there were strange weapons everywhere; they were like grave markers clustered together. I was on my knees and I'm bleeding badly, in front of me there's another person. I can't really tell what they look like because it's fuzzy and dark, I was begging them not to kill themselves."

Merlin's interest sparked, "I see. That sounds very familiar, you know. What else?"

"Well, I couldn't hear their names and they mentioned a third person I couldn't see anywhere. But the one trying to commit suicide said "If I don't do it, the world will be destroyed." Do you know something about it Merlin?" Riku asked.

Merlin stroked his beard, "As a matter of fact my boy I do. Get comfortable boys; Riku's dream actually revolves around today's lesson."

Excited Sora and Riku situated themselves for a lecture.

"Now then, today's lesson dates back to one thousand years ago when a very unique couple existed. Now, you both remember that the world must maintain its balance?" the boys nodded at the question "And that means darkness and light must never come in contact in certain ways?"

"How so?" Sora asked in child curiosity.

"I will explain in the lesson. As I was saying, one thousand years ago a Prince of Light and a Prince of Darkness met and unexpectedly, fell in love." Merlin explained.

"Ooh! Like your parents Riku!" Sora said happily and the silverette nodded back with smile.

Merlin nodded too, "Yes, quite so. And though it was feared their relationship would cause the world's ruin, it didn't happen. The reason being because the Prince of Darkness was a unique being."

"What was he?" Riku asked.

"He was what was known as the Twilight Prince, a special and unique being born to harness both the powers of darkness and light." Merlin explained.

Sora blinked in confusion, "Twilight Prince? That sounds weird."

Merlin shook his head, "On the contrary, the Twilight Prince can govern the powers of both darkness and light alone. Such beings are of extremely rare birth, in fact the one born one thousand years ago was the first and only in the world's creation. When he was born it was thought the world would fall to ruin, but instead it was in balance better than before. That was until a Prince of Light was born and they both met some years later, then the Prince of Light developed darkness within himself."

"What? How?" the boys cried.

A Prince of Light having darkness was unheard of! The fact that it happened at all seemed so wrong and it especially scared Sora because he was a Prince of Light. He feared the darkness more than anything in the world.

"The Prince of Light fell in love with him and wanted to be with him, that was selfish because of that desire and that's what created his darkness. But because he was light-incarnate, that darkness was expelled from his heart to keep him pure. Unfortunately though the darkness expelled from him was itself incarnated, and much catastrophe was unleashed. So to stop it, the Prince of Light took his life in order to offer his own heart to Kingdom Hearts; doing so destroyed the incarnated darkness, but also brought grief to the Twilight Prince as well. He soon died of a broken heart and another has not been born since."

Merlin finished his lecture and Sora was in tears.

"That's terrible! They couldn't be with each other in the end… No one deserves that!" the brunette cried.

Riku, having dealt with Sora's hysterics before, instantly pulled his friend into a hug and pet his hair to calm him down while the brunette sobbed on his shoulder.

"Isn't there a better ending than that Merlin? For his sake?" he older boy asked.

The old wizard nodded, "Indeed there is. Though they may not be together now, it was foretold that they would be reborn so that they may find each other again."

Sora looked up with big, hopeful eyes, "Will they be allowed to be together if they find each other?"

Marlin stroked his beard, "Now that, is uncertain. History could repeat itself after all. But there is a chance."

"Yay! I hope they find each other so they can be together! Everyone deserves someone to love. Right Riku?" the Prince said.

"I guess so." Riku said with a small shrug.

There lesson went on; Merlin began talking about the many cities that made up the realms of light and darkness, and everywhere in between. Riku always took an interest in them because like Xemnas, he wanted to travel and see the world, and he wanted to take his friends with him. Especially Sora.

Right at the end of the lesson there was a knock on the door and Axel poked his head in, "Hey Riku, ready to go?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm coming. Bye Your Highness, thank you for today Merlin." Riku said making his way over to his other friend.

"Wait Riku!" Sora caught his hand "Where are you going?"

"Into town with Axel." The silverette answered.

The younger boy pouted, "Can I go with you?"

"And have guards tailing us? No way!" Axel snapped.

Riku turned to glare at the redhead before looking back at the young prince, "Sorry Your Highness. But I'll bring you back something from the Town Square, I promise."

Sora's face fell and Riku's heart almost broke at the sight.

But Sora nodded, "Okay."

Riku left with Axel glancing over his shoulder at the brunette before closing the door behind him and sighing sadly.

"Oh c'mon Riku. You act like you're in love with him." Axel said.

The silverette blushed lightly as he started down the hall, "What of it?"

Axel blinked and followed after him, "What's with you dude? You were pretty defensive on that."

Riku shrugged, "I dunno, I just… For some reason I feel like I need to be there for Prince Sora no matter what. It's like something inside says he needs me, really needs me. It's strange."

"Okay, that's way deep for someone who six." Axel commented.

Riku smirked, "That means I'm smarter than you."

"Hey!" Axel shouted running after his friend when he took off.

* * *

Axel and Riku were walking around the Town Square passing merchants and shop owners shouting for people's attention so they could draw possible customers; this was the reason Axel loved to come to the Town Square, he was a prankster and crowded places such as this was the best place to cause trouble.

"Axel you're not gonna set one of the stores on fire again are you?" Riku asked when he saw his friend eyeing the Synthesis Shop.

The redhead just smirked the smirk he wore whenever he pictured everything burning to the ground. Riku wouldn't hesitate to answer 'yes' if anyone asked him if his friend was a pyromaniac, he knew he was and didn't care because like Sora, Axel was his best friend and he wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. The only problem was he often had to share whatever punishment Axel received from his fire escapades because people didn't see him trying to stop him beforehand.

"Riku my friend, you must understand that fire is life. I'm only showing how much gratitude I have for my own by setting things on fire." Axel said.

"You're not showing gratitude, you're displaying insanity." Riku said in a bemused tone.

The redhead looked hurt at the younger boy's words, "Harsh much?"

Riku shrugged, "I'm only telling you the truth, hoping you get a wake-up call."

Axel huffed as he continued walking around Town Square with his friend, who was constantly looking into stores.

"Dude what are you looking for?" he finally asked.

"Something special." The younger answered.

The redhead arched an eyebrow but continued to follow anyway, "Why may I ask?"

"I didn't get His Highness a present for his birthday. So that's what I'm looking for. I promised to bring him something back anyway."

"Ri that was last week." Axel noted.

"Riku!"

The boys looked to see a little girl younger than both of them with short wine colored hair wearing a white shirt with a blue strip near the top and some white flowers at the bottom, and a purple skirt, waving at them.

"Hi Kairi." Riku said walking over to her with Axel following.

"Yo Little Red." Axel greeted.

Kairi giggled and put her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels, "So what are you guys up to?"

Axel pointed a thumb at his friend, "Riku's looking for something for Prince Sora."

"Well maybe my Granma's store has something for him if you wanna look." Kairi provided.

Riku nodded and followed her inside, Axel followed begrudgingly.

Riku looked around at the many items in the shop looking for what he thought would be good enough for his royal friend, but nothing caught his eye as unique. Everything seemed to dull or bleak; he was getting frustrated, "Kairi you don't have anything I could give him to make him happy."

The girl giggled, "You act like you have a crush on him."

Axel burst out laughing, "That's what I said!"

Riku blushed, "I'm leaving!"

As he was walking towards the door Kairi grabbed his wrist, "No! I'm sorry. Hey do you still have that pouch with all those crystals and stuff? The ones your dad collected for you." When he nodded she smiled, "Great! You can synthesize them with our Moogle Artemis. He always makes the best stuff."

The silverette nodded, "Okay, I'll try it!" he went over the Moogle bobbing around in the corner "Excuse me, Artemis?"

The Moogle stopped bobbing around and looked at the boy, "Can I help you Kupo?"

Riku pulled out his pouch of synthesis items, "Could you use these to make something special for Prince Sora?"

The Moogle took the pouch and flew over to his synthesizer, poured the items out onto the conveyer belt, and pulled the lever to start the machine.

"The synthesis is going to take about an hour Kupo." Artemis said.

Riku nodded and went over to Axel and Kairi, "We're gonna be here a while."

Axel shook his head, "Sorry dude, I'm going to hang out with Demyx. I'll see ya back at the castle!" he ran out of the store.

He went over to a boy his age with dirty blonde hair styled in a Mohawk/mullet; he had dark blue-green eyes, and wore a light blue T-shirt with a thin dark blue vest similar to Axel's with khaki cargo shorts.

"Aw that's mean. Axel left you behind." Kairi said.

"I know, and I'm not supposed to be wondering around by myself." Riku responded.

"I'm sure Granma will be happy to walk you back home." The girl offered.

Riku smiled at her, "Thanks Kairi."

The two kids sat playing card games while they waited for the synthesis to finish, Kairi going to help with customers when they came in from time to time.

Finally they heard a _ding_ and Artemis flew over to them, "Your item's finished Kupo!"

"Thank you Artemis. What did all the items turn into?" Kairi asked.

Artemis flew over to the end of the conveyer belt where the finished items came out, and looked at what was on the tray, "A necklace Kupo!"

Riku and Kairi went over to look at the object, a silver three point crown on a chain.

"Wow Artemis! This is great!" Kairi commented.

"All my shards made that? Kairi do you think Prince Sora would like it?" Riku asked.

The redhead nodded, "He'll love it!"

Riku smiled brightly, "Okay, how much do I owe you?"

"Oh Riku dear, it's no charge at all."

The kids looked behind the counter to see an elderly woman with her gray hair done up in a bun, she wore a purple dress with a brown shawl and a white apron.

"Granma can we walk Riku home?" Kairi asked.

"That sound like a delightful idea sweetheart." The woman answered.

"No need ma'am, that's what I'm here for."

Riku turned with a smile on his face seeing a man with shoulder length black hair slicked back and gold eyes, though the right one was covered by an eye patch and there was a long scar running from under his left eye down to his jaw. He wore the uniform of Radiant Garden's military, a charcoal mid-thigh length coat with two vertical rows of gold buttons and white hemming, and a black belt around his waist, pants that matched the coat, and he wore knee-high black boots. On his hands were elbow-length white gloves with a silver-blue heart design.

"Uncle Xigbar!" the boy exclaimed.

The man gave him a two-finger salute, "Yo Moonlight."

Xigbar was Xemnas's best friend growing up in the town; he was actually among the party that found the boy's father. Xigbar was his godfather and came up with the weirdest nicknames for pretty much everyone; Riku's nickname came from his hair.

"What are you doing here?" Riku asked.

"Been walkin' around with His Highness and Lady Aqua." Xigbar answered.

Kairi got excited, "Prince Sora's here? Granma let's go see him! Please?"

The old woman laughed, "I think it's a splendid idea."

Riku put the necklace in his pocket, "I'll go get them!" and he ran out of the shop.

Across the square at the ice cream shop he saw Sora and Aqua.

"Sora!" he called waving a hand over his head.

The younger boy looked and smiled brightly, "Riku! Mommy, it's Riku!"

Riku jumped from the ledge some of the shops sat on and ran across the lower area to the stairs that led up the other side and up; Sora was waiting for him.

"Hi Riku!" he said hugging him around his neck.

"Sora, Kairi wants to see you. Her Grandmother too." Riku said.

Sora pulled away "Okay! I wanna say hi to Kairi anyway!" he said with bright smile "I'll race you!" and he sprinted off down the stairs again.

Aqua watched as Riku chased after him across the lower area of the market towards the other stair landing and shook her head with a fond smile. She heard a small commotion from another area in the market and she looked seeing some workers struggling with a cart full of milk, they were trying to pull it up the ramp to take it to a restaurant. It got loose and because there was no one behind it to keep it from doing so, it began rolling down the ramp from them.

"Look out!" the workers called out.

Everyone in the path of the run-away cart jumped away, others were screaming for others to get out of the way.

Aqua saw that her own son was in its path and she began to panic "Sora! Get out of the way!" She called.

Sora stopped running and looked back at his mother, "What?"

"Sora!" Riku was suddenly at Sora's side; unconsciously he held out his left hand that was glowing with slight dark blue aura, then what looked like fire launched at the cart and demolished it. Panting Riku looked at his hand in confusion before his attention snapped back to his friend, "Sora, are you okay?"

Sora looked at his friend and nodded, "Yeah. Thank you Riku."

Xigbar, Aqua, and Kairi ran over to them.

"Sora! Sweetheart, are you alright?" Aqua asked picking her son up and hugging him.

"I'm alright Mommy."

"Riku how did you do that?" Kairi asked.

The boy shrugged looking at his hand, "I dunno."

"Let's just get you kids back home." Xigbar said.

Sora and Riku were taken back to the castle and Riku spent the rest of his day talking to Merlin and Ansem about what happened in the square that afternoon.

* * *

"Well it sounds like you had an eventful day son." Saïx said as he tucked Riku into bed.

"Do you think something's wrong with me?" his son asked.

"It may have something to do with whatever dark power was seen in you when I first brought you here." Xemnas said running a hand through Riku's hair.

The boy sighed, "I don't think Prince Sora will like me anymore."

His parents looked at him confused.

"Now why would you think so?" Saïx asked.

Xemnas lifted the boys chin so that their eyes met, "There's no reason for Prince Sora to not like you."

Riku sighed, "But if I have dark powers then Prince Sora won't like me. He's afraid of the darkness."

"Riku, darkness isn't naturally evil. It depends on how you use it. And you used it to protect Sora. So long as you remember that and remind Sora of the same thing, he'll always be your friend." Saïx assured.

He was kissed goodnight and Xemnas led his lover out of the room so their child could go to sleep.

Riku didn't fall asleep right away though, he lay awake in bed still holding the necklace he had made thinking, _'Will you still be my friend Sora?'_

* * *

**I'm not so proud of this one; it's more dialogue than anything huh?**

**Axel: At least it's something.**

**Terra: Yeah, you're really lacking.**

**Well I'd feel more likely to write if I could get more reviews. I don't know how many people actually read my stories. Please guys! Leave reviews after reading so I can write more! *begging***


	4. A Letter From the Author

Dear Reader,

I'm sorry to say that due to my laptop being broken and my writer's block, the time in which this story will be updated is in the unknown status.

I thank all new followers and reviewers for showing their support and I promise that should I get a new laptop with all my saved information transfered from the old one I will have some new stories I writing out by hand at the moment, typed and posted for you to enjoy while I work on everything else.

Many apologies and much love,

~Animesaki


End file.
